TCS - The TechCentral Show

TCS | Pansy Tlakula: Information Regulator bares its teeth

The Information Regulator, the agency responsible for enforcing the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia), is starting to flex its muscles.

Among other things, the regulator is tasked with investigating data breaches – including cyberattacks – and will not hesitate to mete out punishment on companies and government entities that don’t take the protection of customer or citizen information seriously.

Already engaged in an enforcement action over a cyberattack at the department of justice & constitutional development – the department was fined R5-million – the regulator is seeing a flood of self-reported incidents reach its offices. In fact, more than a thousand such incidents have been reported this year alone, a sharp increase from the 2022 figure of about 600.

TechCentral recently welcomed the Information Regulator’s chair, Adv Pansy Tlakula, onto the TechCentral Show (TCS) for a discussion about the regulator, its enforcement actions and some of the investigations it is pursuing.

In the TCS interview, Tlakula chats about:

• Her day-to-day duties as chair of the Information Regulator;

• Popia and the Promotion of Access to Information Act and the Information Regulator’s role in enforcing both pieces of legislation;

• What organisations in both the private and public sectors should know about the work of the regulator;

• Enforcement actions that it has been involved in, including the ongoing matter involving the department of justice and a resolution to a dispute with pharmacy chain Dis-Chem over a recent incident involving customer information;

• The reported cyberattack on the State Security Agency and what the regulator plans to do about it;

• The rising number of cyberattacks on public sector infrastructure, what’s driving it and what can be done about it; and

• Much more besides.

Don’t miss a great discussion!

TCS | The Levy brothers on the future of Blue Label and Cell C

When JSE-listed Blue Label Telecoms released its annual results two weeks ago, it showed its core business continuing to grow at a respectable pace. Yet investors dumped the share, worried about a lack of disclosure about Cell C’s performance.

Now, in an exclusive interview with the TechCentral Show (TCS), the company’s founders and co-CEOs, brothers Brett and Mark Levy, have spelt out exactly why they believe investors have punished the share, why they decided not to publish numbers for Cell C (this time around), and what their strategy is for the long-troubled mobile operator after the completion last year of its second recapitalisation in six years.

In the interview, Mark Levy looks back to the founding of the company more than 20 years ago, how it pivoted into cellular airtime, and its listing on the JSE.

The conversation later shifts to a detailed discussion with Brett Levy on Cell C. He answers a wide range of questions, including:

• Why did Blue Label buy Cell C in the first place?

• What went wrong after the first recap?

• What’s stop things going awry again at Cell C?

• Why is Blue Label pursuing a controlling stake in the mobile operator?

• What’s the potential upside at Cell C?

• Just how important is the mobile virtual network operator business? (Cell C recently concluded an MVNO deal with Capitec.)

The brothers also tackle the difficulty in understanding Blue Label’s results, driven by the highly complex restructuring at Cell C. They tackle these questions:

• Shouldn’t Blue Label be doing more to make its results understandable to shareholders, especially ordinary investors?

• Doesn’t buying control of Cell C expose Blue Label to even greater potential risk?

• What’s the outlook for Blue Label’s core business?

• What are the exciting growth areas in the core business, such as betting/gaming?

• Is Blue Label mulling a buyout of minorities and a delisting from the JSE?

Don’t miss the most detailed and information-packed interview the Levy brothers have given in years. If you enjoyed the interview, please consider subscribing on YouTube or your favourite podcast app.

It’s been a year since investors, including the business’s own customers, came to the rescue the Sigfox internet-of-things (IoT) network in South Africa.

Now its chief commercial officer, Sumenish Naidoo, has told the TechCentral Show (TCS) that Sigfox South Africa is not only on a sustainable growth trajectory, but has big big growth plans for the rest of this decade.

This comes after Remgro’s CIVH in 2021 pulled the plug on Sigfox operator SqwidNet, citing weak customer demand. Founded eight years ago under CIVH subsidiary Dark Fibre Africa, the difficulties at SqwidNet came as a shock to its customers, including Discovery Insure and ADT, that had come to rely heavily on the nationwide Sigfox network.

Former CIVH CEO Raymond Ndlovu said in an interview with TechCentral at the time that the decision to shut down SqwidNet, which by then had been moved out of Dark Fibre Africa as a separate entity under CIVH, was because customer take-up had not been as strong as hoped.

The Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns resulted in depressed commercial activity, which worsened the problems at SqwidNet.

Support from SqwidNet’s customers, though, ensured the Sigfox network was saved. CIVH has remained a shareholder in the newly created Sigfox South Africa, albeit now as a minority one, along with Macrocomm, Discovery Insure, Fidelity ADT and Buffet Investments.

In this episode of TCS, Naidoo tells TechCentral editor-in-chief Duncan McLeod about what’s happened at Sigfox South Africa since the rescue deal last year, and why he believes there is still a significant opportunity for growth in IoT in the country, despite the troubles experienced at SqwidNet.

Naidoo also talks about:

• What IoT is, and why it could help grease the wheels of commerce;

• The history of Sigfox in South Africa, and how Sigfox’s technology differs from traditional cellular communication and other IoT protocols;

• What the Sigfox network in South Africa looks like today;

• How the network is being used; and

• How consumers can get their hands on Sigfox-capable IoT devices.

Don’t miss a fascinating interview!

Nigerian fintech Paystack, which was acquired by Stripe, the Irish-American firm founded by the Collison brothers in 2020 for US$200-million, has big plans to expand elsewhere in Africa.

Joel Bronkowski, Paystack’s country head for South Africa, joins the TechCentral Show (TCS) to talk about these expansion plans as well as the state of fintech on the continent.

Paystack, which is headquartered in Lagos, was founded by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi and received early funding from Silicon Valley start-up accelerator Y Combinator.

In the TCS interview, Bronkowski also chats about:

• Paystack’s plans for the South African market;

• How the company is approaching the South African market in comparison to its strategy for Nigeria and other countries;

• The problems the company is trying to solve;

• The Stripe acquisition and what it means for Paystack; and

• Paystack’s growth strategy.

Don’t miss a great discussion about disruption in financial services in Africa.

Luke Jedeikin and Claude Hanan are well known for founding Superbalist, the online fashion store bought in 2014 by Takealot Group.

Now the pair has embarked on a new venture, launched in The Foschini Group (TFG) stable, called Bash, and they tell Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) all about it.

To start the discussion, Hanan and Jedeikin talk about the origin of Superbalist – it began life as a group-buying deals site akin to Groupon. They then chat about how the big Takealot deal happened and what it meant for Superbalist.

The conversation them turns to how the TFG opportunity came about and what the JSE-listed retail group is hoping to achieve with the launch of Bash – it’s online at bash.com. They also explain why they chose the name Bash and what was involved in securing a four-letter dot-com domain.

Among many other topics, Jedeikin and Hanan provide their views on:

• The state of e-commerce in South Africa;

• Why Bash is a mobile-first app shopping destination – it also works fine on the web;

• The complexities of selling fashion online; and

• The competitive landscape in South Africa and how it’s evolving.

Don’t miss a fascinating discussion!

What does the future hold for e-commerce in South Africa? Takealot Group CEO Mamongae Mahlare joins the TechCentral Show (TCS) to unpack this and more.

In the interview, Mahlare talks about her career background and how she came to Takealot. She also discusses:

• The transformative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, how it drove up online shopping and why it’s impact is still being felt.

• Takealot Group’s slowing growth – why it’s happening, and what it says about the e-commerce space in South Africa.

• The impact of increased competition from traditional retailers embracing internet commerce.

• The Competition Commission’s investigation into online markets, and why the authorities need to tread carefully.

• The rumoured launch later this year of an Amazon marketplace in South Africa, and how this will impact the market and Takealot.

• What will shape the development of e-commerce in South Africa in the coming years.

• The role, if any, for the Post Office in e-commerce fulfilment.

Don’t miss a fascinating discussion.

Volvo Cars, part of Sweden’s Volvo Group, has seen a big growth in interest in electric vehicles from the South African motoring public – and the company hopes the introduction early next year of its most affordable EV yet, the EX30, will accelerate that.

That’s according to Volvo Cars South Africa MD Greg Maruszewski, who was speaking to Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) – watch or listen to the interview below.

Volvo has been one of the most aggressive car manufacturers in pivoting from internal combustion engines to electric motors. Indeed, it said two years ago already that it intends to become a fully electric car company by 2030.

In this episode of TCS, Maruszewski unpacks:

• Volvo’s transition to EVs and its strategy around electro-mobility;

• What South Africans think about EVs, and why they’re warming to the concept;

• Where Volvo is positioned in the car market, and why some of its newer models, like the XC30, are aimed at a younger audience;

• Volvo’s expectations for the EX30 compact sports utility vehicle in the local market, and more details about the new model – including performance, battery range, integrated technology and pricing, which is expected to start at about R776 000;

• Volvo’s relationship with Google;

• The development of charging infrastructure in South Africa;

• What government could be doing to encourage greater EV adoption; and

• The future of the cars – what can we expect in the coming years?

Don’t miss a fascinating interview!

Bryan Hattingh, CEO of Cycan, is well-known in South Africa’s technology industry for his leadership coaching and for helping companies find top talent.

Hattingh joins Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) to discuss what he believes is required of leadership in a post-Covid world – hint: it’s not more of the same.

He discusses a range of issues in the interview, including:

• How the pandemic changed what’s required of business leaders;

• How companies can maintain their unique cultures in the era of remote working;

• What artificial intelligence means for the modern workplace;

• What works best – hybrid, remote or in-office only – and why;

• Why companies might not be measuring success correctly – it should go beyond regular reporting on financial metrics such as Heps and Ebitda;

• How firms can help employees find meaning and satisfaction in the workplace; and

• The emigration wave in South Africa and its impact on the country.

Don’t miss a great discussion!

It’s been just over 20 years since Andile Ngcaba quit his government job – he was director-general of communications – and became an investor in the technology sector.

Now, in an interview with Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS), Ngcaba looks back at the past two decades, the formation of Convergence Partners, the investments the business has made and why, and its focus areas.

Ngcaba, who splits his time between Africa and Silicon Valley – where he has a home – unpacks the recent announcement that Convergence Partners Investments is rebranding as Solcon Capital and has appointed a new CEO, Pramod Venkatesh, and why its focus has been broadened beyond Africa to both developing and developed markets.

“Under this new brand, Solcon will focus on international deep tech investments in generative AI and large language models, synthetic data and big data, cybersecurity, and quantum computing across South Africa, India and Southeast Asia, leveraging scale through platform economics,” Solcon said in a statement last week.

Also in this TCS interview, Ngcaba talks about:

• What he has learnt from his time in Silicon Valley, and why it’s not easy to replicate the Valley model in other parts of the model. “It’s more a state of mind,” Ngcaba tells TechCentral.

• What he set out to achieve when he started Convergence Partners.

• The highlights of the investments the company has made over the years.

• What excites him the technology space today, and why.

The original Convergence Partners pitch presentation to investor Nedbank, which Ngcaba talks about in the opening minutes of the interview, is available to download on TechCentral's website.

Don’t miss a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion!

Following the recent decision to rebrand MTN GlobalConnect as Bayobab, founder and CEO Frédéric Schepens joins the TechCentral Show (TCS) to chat about the telecommunications infrastructure provider’s expansion plans.

Bayobab, which owns stakes in a number of subsea cable systems and other telecoms infrastructure, is the result of “change under way to position the business as a world-class, Africa-focused open-access digital infrastructure platform serving not just MTN but other third parties as customers”, MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said in May.

“We are also going to bring in strategic partners into the business over time who will provide skills and capital to support and accelerate the growth of this business.”

In this episode of TCS, Schepens unpacks all the infrastructure that Bayobab owns, the huge investments it is making in subsea and terrestrial fibre in Africa, and where the company expects to direct its capital spending in the years ahead.